3,615 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of Higher Spin Black Holes in AdS
We discuss the thermodynamics of recently constructed three-dimensional
higher spin black holes in SL(N,R)\times SL(N,R) Chern-Simons theory with
generalized asymptotically-anti-de Sitter boundary conditions. From a
holographic perspective, these bulk theories are dual to two-dimensional CFTs
with W_N symmetry algebras, and the black hole solutions are dual to thermal
states with higher spin chemical potentials and charges turned on. Because the
notion of horizon area is not gauge-invariant in the higher spin theory, the
traditional approaches to the computation of black hole entropy must be
reconsidered. One possibility, explored in the recent literature, involves
demanding the existence of a partition function in the CFT, and consistency
with the first law of thermodynamics. This approach is not free from
ambiguities, however, and in particular different definitions of energy result
in different expressions for the entropy. In the present work we show that
there are natural definitions of the thermodynamically conjugate variables that
follow from careful examination of the variational principle, and moreover
agree with those obtained via canonical methods. Building on this intuition, we
derive general expressions for the higher spin black hole entropy and free
energy which are written entirely in terms of the Chern-Simons connections, and
are valid for both static and rotating solutions. We compare our results to
other proposals in the literature, and provide a new and efficient way to
determine the generalization of the Cardy formula to a situation with higher
spin charges.Comment: 30 pages, PDFLaTeX; v2: typos corrected, explicit expressions for the
free energy adde
The elliptic genus from split flows and Donaldson-Thomas invariants
We analyze a mixed ensemble of low charge D4-D2-D0 brane states on the
quintic and show that these can be successfully enumerated using attractor flow
tree techniques and Donaldson-Thomas invariants. In this low charge regime one
needs to take into account worldsheet instanton corrections to the central
charges, which is accomplished by making use of mirror symmetry. All the
charges considered can be realized as fluxed D6-D2-D0 and anti-D6-D2-D0 pairs
which we enumerate using DT invariants. Our procedure uses the low charge
counterpart of the picture developed Denef and Moore. By establishing the
existence of flow trees numerically and refining the index factorization
scheme, we reproduce and improve some results obtained by Gaiotto, Strominger
and Yin. Our results provide appealing evidence that the strong split flow tree
conjecture holds and allows to compute exact results for an important sector of
the theory. Our refined scheme for computing indices might shed some light on
how to improve index computations for systems with larger charges.Comment: 37 pages, 12 figure
Microscopics of Extremal Kerr from Spinning M5 Branes
We show that the spinning magnetic one-brane in minimal five-dimensional
supergravity admits a decoupling limit that interpolates smoothly between a
self-dual null orbifold of AdS_3 \times S^2 and the near-horizon limit of the
extremal Kerr black hole times a circle. We use this interpolating solution to
understand the field theory dual to spinning M5 branes as a deformation of the
Discrete Light Cone Quantized (DLCQ) Maldacena-Stominger-Witten (MSW) CFT. In
particular, the conformal weights of the operators dual to the deformation
around AdS_3 \times S^2 are calculated. We present pieces of evidence showing
that a CFT dual to the four-dimensional extremal Kerr can be obtained from the
deformed MSW CFT.Comment: 5 page
Associations between lifestyle factors and an unhealthy diet
BACKGROUND: Unhealthy dietary patterns have been associated with other unhealthy lifestyle factors such as smoking and physical inactivity. Whether these associations are similar in high- and low-educated individuals is currently unknown. METHODS: We used information of the EPIC-NL cohort, a prospective cohort of 39 393 men and women, aged 20-70 years at recruitment. A lifestyle questionnaire and a validated food frequency questionnaire were administered at recruitment (1993-97). Low adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was used to determine an unhealthy dietary pattern. Lifestyle-related factors included body mass index, waist circumference, smoking status, physical activity level, dietary supplement use and daily breakfast consumption. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed for the total population and by strata of educational level. RESULTS: In total 30% of the study population had an unhealthy dietary pattern: 39% in the lowest educated group and 20% in the highest educated group. Physical inactivity, a large waist circumference, no dietary supplement use and skipping breakfast were associated with an unhealthy dietary pattern in both low and high educated participants. Among low educated participants, current smokers had a greater odds of an unhealthy diet compared with never smokers: OR 1.42 (95% CI: 1.25; 1.61). This association was not observed in the high educated group. CONCLUSIONS: Most associations between lifestyle-related factors and unhealthy diet were consistent across educational levels, except for smoking. Only among low educated participants, current smokers reported an unhealthier dietary pattern in comparison to never smokers. These results can be used in the development of targeted health promotion strategies
An Infinite-Dimensional Family of Black-Hole Microstate Geometries
We construct the first explicit, smooth, horizonless black-hole microstate
geometry whose moduli space is described by an arbitrary function of one
variable and is thus infinite-dimensional. This is achieved by constructing the
scalar Green function on a simple D6 anti-D6 background, and using this Green
function to obtain the fully back-reacted solution for a supertube with varying
charge density in this background. We show that this supertube can store
parametrically more entropy than in flat space, confirming the entropy
enhancement mechanism that was predicted using brane probes. We also show that
all the local properties of the fully back-reacted solution can, in fact, be
obtained using the DBI action of an appropriate brane probe. In particular, the
supergravity and the DBI analysis yield identical functional bubble equations
that govern the relative locations of the centers. This indicates that there is
a non-renormalization theorem that protects these functional equations as one
moves in moduli space. Our construction creates configurations that are beyond
the scope of recent arguments that appear to put strong limits on the entropy
that can be found in smooth supergravity solutions.Comment: 46 pages, 1 figure, LaTe
A bound on the entropy of supergravity?
We determine, in two independent ways, the number of BPS quantum states
arising from supergravity degrees of freedom in a system with fixed total D4D0
charge. First, we count states generated by quantizing the spacetime degrees of
freedom of 'entropyless' multicentered solutions consisting of anti-D0-branes
bound to a D6-anti-D6 pair. Second, we determine the number of free
supergravity excitations of the corresponding AdS_3 geometry with the same
total charge. We find that, although these two approaches yield a priori
different sets of states, the leading degeneracies in a large charge expansion
are equal to each other and that, furthermore, the number of such states is
parametrically smaller than that arising from the D4D0 black hole's entropy.
This strongly suggests that supergravity alone is not sufficient to capture all
degrees of freedom of large supersymmetric black holes. Comparing the free
supergravity calculation to that of the D6-anti-D6-D0 system we find that the
bound on the free spectrum imposed by the stringy exclusion principle (a
unitarity bound in the dual CFT) seems to be captured in the dynamics of the
fully interacting but classcial supergravity equations of motion.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figure
6-thioguanine treatment in inflammatory bowel disease: A critical appraisal by a European 6-TG working party
Recently, the suggestion to use 6-thioguanine (6-TG) as an alternative thiopurine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been discarded due to reports about possible (hepato) toxicity. During meetings arranged in Vienna and Prague in 2004, European experts applying 6-TG further on in IBD patients presented data on safety and efficacy of 6-TG. After thorough evaluation of its risk-benefit ratio, the group consented that 6-TG may still be considered as a rescue drug in stringently defined indications in IBD, albeit restricted to a clinical research setting. As a potential indication for administering 6-TG, we delineated the requirement for maintenance therapy as well as intolerance and/or resistance to aminosalicylates, azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine, methotrexate and infliximab. Furthermore, indications are preferred in which surgery is thought to be inappropriate. The standard 6-TG dosage should not exceed 25 mg daily. Routine laboratory controls are mandatory in short intervals. Liver biopsies should be performed after 6-12 months, three years and then three-yearly accompanied by gastroduodenoscopy, to monitor for potential hepatotoxicity, including nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH) and veno-occlusive disease (VOD). Treatment with 6-TG must be discontinued in case of overt or histologically proven hepatotoxicity. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel
Wall-crossing of D4-D2-D0 and flop of the conifold
We discuss the wall-crossing of the BPS bound states of a non-compact
holomorphic D4-brane with D2 and D0-branes on the conifold. We use the
Kontsevich-Soibelman wall-crossing formula and analyze the BPS degeneracy in
various chambers. In particular we obtain a relation between BPS degeneracies
in two limiting attractor chambers related by a flop transition. Our result is
consistent with known results and predicts BPS degeneracies in all chambers.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; v2: typos corrected; v3: minor changes, a
reference added, version to be published in JHE
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